European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Checking out pottery Ottery purchased in foreign countries sometimes has Baen found to contain dangerous Levels o Lead what about the pottery from these countries that is sold in overseas awes and Nav Resso stores aafe5 Ceramic Ware must conform to us food and drug administration standards. Ii teals ils Ceramic Ware. The Navy requires Only that products conform to Lockany accepted standards and does not run less. We discussed doing our own testing but decided it was not economically feasible at this time said John Russas. Public a lairs Olfier Tor the Navy resale and support services office in Mew York which handles Navy exchanges. We think this is an appropriate response to ills concern Russas added. A directive was sent out aug. 3 to he Navy outlets slating that All pottery enamel War Pewter Silver plated products and glassware Hal has painted interiors and is designed of preparing serving or. Storing of food must comply with with Fra standards or one of the following the Japan pottery inspection association s published standards or the european Community directive that covers such standards. Pottery no manufactured Tor Lood or beverage use and that does not comply with the required standards. Can be said but must be rendered either impossible to use a Hole drilled in the Bottom of a cup o Goblet or carry a warning Label. The labels must be made so they cannot to removed and must stale that the items Are Only for decorative use and May Poison food according to Sid Poindexter who is with the testing and analysis Branch of the purchasing directorate at cafes Headquarters in Dallas foreign Ceramic Ware sold in their stores is tested to assure that it conforms to . Federal requirements. Pottery is filled to about one Quarter of an Inch below 1he rim with a solution of four percen Asslie acid and left to Sil Lor 12 to 16 hours. The solution is Hen tested for Lead and cadmium Content the second part of the lest involves placing the item upside Down in a pan or Saucer of the same solution so that the one Quarter Inch of rim can a so be checked. The Homo kit sold by Frandon enterprises cannot give a quantified parts por million Lead measure and it also can be skewed by the presence of other heavy. Me Lala. Cadmium also highly toxic Copper Blum ugh and Antimony can cause color changes in testing. However any item that has been properly the Frandon enterprises Home Lead teat in simple. Manufactured should not release heavy meals in amounts that will give a positive result. The kit s instructions Call Lor using enough while distilled vinegar to cover the surface of the item being tested. The Vinega must sit on the surface for 24 hours or longer. Then vinegar irom the item is put into the smell testing dish provided and a few drops of the testing solution Are added. If any Lead or other chemicals Are leaching from the item the color of the mixture will turn from Light yellow to Black depending on the amount  the stars and stripes used the test kit to Check to items of european and american pottery the test solution in medially turned Black when added to the vinegar collected irom iwo of the items an old Blue Green casserole and a newly purchased Small Brown Pitcher. That Lead was apparently leaching irom the casserole s Glaze was t too much of a shocker. The casserole had been both scoured and put through a dishwasher Many limes Over. If a Glaze has not been properly applied this rough treatment can Causa it to dissolve and release the Metal into food products. The casserole had been purchased in los 1950s in California As part of a Complete Ceramic dinner set. Other than a Tali Pitcher it was All that was left of the original set. The Pitcher rarely used tested out of. The act Hal the lest indicated that Lead was leaking from the Little Brown Pitcher was More of a Surprise. The Pitcher had been bought trom a local Potter in Germany. She had assured the Young Mother who purchased ii that it was Safe to use for milk and juice Lor the children. The Pitcher made use of what appeared to be a Raku Glaze. A Lille research showed that Raku glazes Are Low fired with either a Lead or an alkaline flux. Low firing is one of the problems connected Metal leakage the Potter was surprised to learn that there might be a problem she showed a package of the Type of Glaze she had used it was labelled in accordance with German regulations with the amount of Lead Content and carried a sentence that it could be put on items used Tor food since the Correct tiring procedure is All important in Locking in a Glaze the Lead Content of the Glaze however does not Tell the whole Story. To find out the exact amount of Lead release from an item Wallace recommends contacting a Quel Ifield commercial Laboratory. The Pitcher that had tested a being potentially dangerous with a High Lead release was turned Over to a local Germany Laboratory for testing with mixed results. The chemist could not test the inside of the pot. The vinegar solution already used meant an immediate new Reading was not possible. He settled Ana Check of the outside surface where he measured a Lead Reading a .0008 my a Square centimetre. Unfortunately thai figure does not give a Reading of How much Lead would be absorbed in any liquid stored in the Container. The Fra regulation allows a Lead presence of Only 0.1 per million which practically rules that a Ceramic item must be totally Lead ree. To be on the Safe Side the owner of the Pitcher decided to place it in the Shell permanently certainly not to use it to store juices. . Anti Lead crusader . . Bureaus o you re not going to use that Mug any More?." came the query from one of Carol Johnson s filth Grade students. There s no Point in using thai Mug any Mora the Apro Ned Johnson said hovering Over some two dozen Clay cups places and containers. In her cluttered american elementary school Art room in Woodbridge England Johnson stood amid the stale egg smell the result of a chemical reaction that came from the vinegar and testing. Solution. She had just poured the. A team Frandon solution into the vinegar that her everyday Coffee ,.Mug had been holding since the Day before. The Clear White combination quickly turned a color As bad As the smell an ominous Brown indicating. A heavy Lead Content a \ in August. Johnson started testing the pottery she has been collecting from around the world for most other life a lot of it Ahe has. Been using eating off it and drinking from it. She likes to Tell the Story merely to illustrate her Point about the time she poisoned some friends she had Over Lor dinner Johnson did t know it at the time but the brass goblets she had been serving refreshments in for the past 20years were dangerous her tests showed Hal the cups have More Lead in them than is Safe. Johnson la taking her Lead finding crusade seriously. She has solar tested about 44 pieces of pottery of her own. She owns pieces irom Many countries including Germany Greece England France Greece Finland and Thailand. And As a result of her tests for Lead she said 17 of those pieces Shell never use again Lor Lood or drink. She said she always has tended to buy from Small Lime local potters wherever. She goes. From her tests no pattern has emerged there is no country that she has gotten particularly bad or fully Lead free pottery. In at least one Case similar pieces from the same potters have produced different results in her tests. However most of the pottery she purchased in England has come up with apparent clean Bills of health Johnson said she became interested in the Lead Issue about eight years ago when she attended a seminar at a teachers conference on safety in the classroom. As an Art teacher she has to be careful about the kinds of supplies she uses. For her pottery classes she Trier to buy Only Toad tree glazes Lor her students use. However when there is no option to leaded glazes she Only allows Ihler use in decorative rather than functional use. 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